JP2022173361A - Culture vessel rack and analyzer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a culture vessel rack and an analyzer that inhibit dew condensation in a culture vessel.

SOLUTION: The culture vessel rack comprises a culture vessel housing to house culture vessels. The culture vessel housing comprises: a first component forming a top face of the culture vessel housing; a second component forming a bottom face of the culture vessel housing; and a third component disposed on the second component to support the culture vessels. The third component supports the culture vessels such that the distance between the first component and the culture vessels is less than or equal to the distance between the second component and the culture vessels.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2D

COPYRIGHT: (C)2023,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present disclosure relates to culture vessel racks and analyzers.

In medical research institutes, hospitals, and the like, tests are performed in which cells and bacteria in specimens are cultured, and microscopic observations and turbidity measurements are performed. In cell culture and bacterial culture, a microwell plate or petri dish is used as a sample container, and culture is performed by introducing a pretreated sample and nutrients into the sample container. The sample inoculated into the sample container is repeatedly cultured in the incubator and observed with the measuring device for a long period of time, and changes in the culture state are analyzed.

However, when culture and observation are repeated for a long period of time, dew condensation occurs on the lid of the specimen container due to the temperature gradient within the incubator. Water droplets due to dew condensation cause light refraction in, for example, transmission observation, leading to deterioration of contrast and erroneous determination of turbidity values due to a decrease in the amount of light.

As a culture observation device that suppresses the occurrence of dew condensation in a specimen container, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses that when the culture container 14 is carried into the incubator unit 12, the culture container 14 is placed on the platform 35, and the transfer robot 15 The heater 36 heats the culture vessel 14 until the arm 31 carries in the culture vessel 14 placed on the base 35" (see the abstract of the same document).

Patent Document 2 describes a biological sample culture and observation apparatus in which "in the housing 7 of the incubator box 2, as shown in Figs. A hot air supply nozzle (gas blowing means) 25 for blowing hot air (gas) H adjusted to a predetermined temperature is attached so that the temperature is suitable for the See paragraph [0035]).

JP 2010-158185 A JP 2007-166982 A

However, in Patent Document 1, the number of culture vessels that can be put into the apparatus is one each. Therefore, when measuring using a plurality of culture vessels, the user has to wait when adding additional culture vessels. can't leave Although the waiting time can be shortened by providing a plurality of pedestals, the need for a plurality of pedestals increases the cost of mechanical parts and increases the size of the device.

In Patent Document 2, in order to suppress the occurrence of dew condensation on the transparent plate, hot air is blown onto the inner surface of the transparent plate inside the incubator box to heat the transparent plate, and water droplets generated by the evaporation of the humidification water are removed from the transparent plate. Although it is difficult to stick, only one culture container can be installed. Therefore, when observing a plurality of culture vessels, a plurality of the same devices are required, which increases the cost, increases the size of the device, and increases the number of consumables such as culture gas and humidifying water.

Accordingly, the present disclosure provides a culture container rack and an analyzer that suppress the occurrence of dew condensation in culture containers.

The culture vessel rack of the present disclosure includes a culture vessel storage section that stores a culture vessel, and the culture vessel storage section includes a first member that constitutes the top surface of the culture vessel storage section, and the culture vessel storage section. a second member that forms a bottom surface; a third member that is arranged on the second member and supports the culture vessel; a heat source installed in the culture vessel storage section; a temperature sensor for measuring internal temperature, wherein the third member is arranged such that the distance between the first member and the culture vessel is equal to or less than the distance between the second member and the culture vessel. , the culture vessel is supported, and the heat source supplies heat based on the output of the temperature sensor.

Further features related to the present disclosure will become apparent from the description of the specification and the accompanying drawings. In addition, the aspects of the present disclosure will be achieved and attained by means of the elements and combinations of various elements and aspects of the detailed description that follows and the claims that follow.
It should be understood that the description herein is merely exemplary and is not intended in any way to limit the scope or application of this disclosure.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of dew condensation in the culture vessel.
Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will be clarified by the following description of the embodiments.

1 is a schematic front view showing the overall configuration of an analyzer according to a first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing the overall configuration of an analysis device according to a first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing locations where dew condensation occurs. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing locations where dew condensation occurs. FIG. 3 is a schematic front view showing a configuration example of a culture container storage section; FIG. 3 is a schematic front view showing a configuration example of a culture container storage section; FIG. 3 is a schematic front view showing a configuration example of a culture container storage section; FIG. 3 is a schematic front view showing a configuration example of a culture container storage section; FIG. 3 is a schematic front view showing a configuration example of a culture container storage section; FIG. 3 is a schematic front view showing a configuration example of a culture container storage section; FIG. 10 is a schematic front view showing an example of arrangement of heat sources and temperature sensors according to the second embodiment; FIG. 3B is a block diagram showing a control mechanism for the heat source and temperature sensor of FIG. 3A; FIG. 10 is a schematic front view showing an example of arrangement of heat sources and temperature sensors according to the second embodiment; FIG. 3D is a block diagram showing the control mechanism for the heat source and temperature sensor of FIG. 3C; FIG. 10 is a schematic front view showing an example of arrangement of heat sources and temperature sensors according to the second embodiment; Figure 3D is a block diagram showing the control mechanism for the heat source and temperature sensor of Figure 3E; FIG. 10 is a schematic front view showing an example of arrangement of heat sources and temperature sensors according to the second embodiment; Figure 3G is a block diagram showing the control mechanism for the heat source and temperature sensor of Figure 3G;

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1A is a schematic front view showing the overall configuration of an analyzer 1 according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a schematic plan view thereof. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the analysis device 1 includes a culture container rack 2, a transport section 3, a measurement section 4, a temperature control section 5 and a control section .

The culture vessel rack 2 has eight layers of culture vessel housing sections 21 stacked in the height direction, and one culture vessel 6 is housed in each culture vessel housing section 21 . A leg portion 22 for supporting the culture container housing portion 21 is provided below the culture container housing portion 21 on the lowest stage. In addition, the number of culture container storage units 21 is not limited to eight stages, and the number of stages may be increased or decreased. Also, the analyzer 1 may have a plurality of culture container racks 2 . The details of the culture vessel storage section 21 will be described later.

The culture container 6 is composed of a specimen container 61 and a lid 62 . The specimen container 61 is a well plate having a plurality of wells, such as a 96-well plate or a 384-well plate, and a specimen 63 is inoculated into each well. The specimen 63 includes, for example, cells, blood, urine, bacteria, tissue fragments, and the like. Note that the lid 62 may be in the form of a seal.

The transport unit 3 includes actuators 31 and 32 and a holding unit 33 and is configured to transport the culture vessel 6 . The holding part 33 holds the culture vessel 6 and is configured to be moved in the height direction and the horizontal direction by the actuators 31 and 32 . The actuators 31 and 32 are composed of ball screws, belts, or the like, for example. The holding unit 33 can receive and deliver the culture vessel 6 by a mechanism (not shown).

Although not shown, the holding unit 33 holds a first holding unit that holds the culture container 6 to be measured next in the measuring unit 4 and holds the culture container 6 for which the measurement in the measuring unit 4 has been completed. A second holding part may be provided, and the measured culture vessel 6 may be removed from the measuring part 4 and the unmeasured culture vessel 6 may be introduced into the measuring part 4 .

The measurement section 4 includes a measurement unit 41 and a specimen measurement section 42 . The sample measurement unit 42 is a measurement device that is located in the measurement unit 41 and measures the culture state of the sample 63 in each well of the culture container 6 . The sample measurement unit 42 includes various mechanisms (not shown) for performing turbidity measurement, absorbance measurement, fluorescence measurement, image analysis, and the like.

The temperature control section 5 includes a heater 51 , a heat sink 52 and a fan 53 and controls the temperature inside the analyzer 1 . The heat of the heater 51 is supplied into the analyzer 1 via the heat sink 52 by the air 54 generated by the fan 53 . As the heater 51, heaters such as electric heaters, ceramic heaters, silicon rubber heaters, sheathed heaters, band heaters, polyimide heaters, space heaters, cord heaters, cartridge heaters, and metal-embedded heaters can be used. In addition to these heaters, Peltier may be used. As the material of the heat sink 52, for example, aluminum, copper, iron, stainless steel, or the like can be used.

The control unit 7 is a computer such as a personal computer, for example, and controls the operation of the entire analysis apparatus 1 . The control unit 7 is connected to the transport unit 3, the measurement unit 4, and the temperature control unit 5 by wire or wirelessly, and transmits instructions to these mechanisms and receives outputs from the mechanisms.

Although not shown, the control unit 7 includes a display unit that displays the measurement results of the sample measurement unit 42, and a data processing unit that calculates changes in culture conditions of the sample 63 over time based on the measurement results. , an input unit for the user to input instructions, a storage unit for storing measurement results, and the like. Note that the control section 7 may be incorporated in the measurement unit 41 .

The measurement unit 41 may include a temperature sensor (not shown) that measures the temperature of the specimen measurement section 42 . In this case, the controller 7 controls the output of the heat amount of the heater 51 based on the output value of the temperature sensor.

Next, the operation of the analyzer 1 will be described. First, the user stores the culture vessel 6 inoculated with the sample 63 into each culture vessel storage section 21 . After that, the user inputs an instruction for starting the operation of the analysis device 1 through the input section of the control section 7 or the like.

The control unit 7 drives the transport unit 3 upon receiving the operation start instruction. The transport unit 3 receives the culture container 6 from the culture container storage unit 21 and transports it to the specimen measurement unit 42 . The control unit 7 drives the sample measurement unit 42 after the transportation of the culture container 6 is completed, and the sample measurement unit 42 measures the culture state of the sample 63 in the sample container 61 (step S1). Here, the control unit 7 may receive the measurement result from the sample measurement unit 42 and display the measurement result on a display unit (not shown).

After the measurement by the sample measurement unit 42 is completed, the control unit 7 drives the transport unit 3 . The transport unit 3 moves and stores the culture container 6 from the sample measurement unit 42 to the culture container storage unit 21 . The sample 63 in the culture container 6 is cultured for a predetermined time in the culture container storage section 21 (step S2).

The control unit 7 repeats the measurement cycle of steps S1 and S2 for one culture container 6, for example, at intervals of 20 to 30 minutes for about 18 hours. While the sample 63 in the culture container 6 is being cultured in a certain culture container storage unit 21, the sample 63 in the culture container 6 stored in another culture container storage unit 21 is measured.

In culturing and measuring a sample in the analyzer 1 as described above, the time (incubation time) during which the culture container 6 is housed in the culture container storage unit 21 is generally longer than the measurement time in the sample measurement unit 42. is long. In general, when the culture container 6 is placed in the incubator, the material of the member supporting the lower surface of the sample container 61 and the air present in slight irregularities on the lower surface of the sample container 61 are supplied to the sample 63 in the sample container 61. The heat energy supplied to the lid 62 is higher than the heat energy supplied to the lid 62 . As a result, dew condensation occurs inside the culture vessel 6 .

FIG. 1C is a schematic diagram showing locations where dew condensation occurs when there is a gap between the specimen container 61 and the lid 62 . FIG. 1C shows only part of the culture vessel 6 for simplification of illustration. As shown in FIG. 1C , when there is a gap between the specimen container 61 and the lid 62 of the culture container 6 , dew condensation C occurs between the top surface of the specimen container 61 and the bottom surface of the lid 62 .

FIG. 1D is a schematic diagram showing locations where dew condensation occurs when there is no gap between the sample container 61 and the lid 62 . FIG. 1D shows only part of the culture vessel 6 for simplification of illustration. As shown in FIG. 1D , when there is no gap between the specimen container 61 and the lid 62 , dew condensation C occurs on the interface between the opening end of each well of the specimen container 61 and the lid 62 .

In this specification, the locations where condensation C occurs as described above (between the top surface of the sample container 61 and the bottom surface of the lid 62, and the interface between the open end of each well of the sample container 61 and the lid 62) are defined as " It may be called "condensation generating part".

Therefore, we propose a culture container storage unit 21 that can suppress or remove dew condensation that occurs in the dew condensation generating portion during the waiting time until the next measurement. Hereinafter, as the culture container 6, a container with no gap between the specimen container 61 and the lid 62 is used, and dew condensation generated on the interface between the opening end of the specimen container 61 and the lid 62 is suppressed. will be explained.

FIG. 2A is a schematic front view showing a configuration example of the culture vessel storage section 21 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2A, the culture container storage part 21 includes a metal material 201 (first member), a heat insulating material 202 (third member), a metal material 203 (second member), a metal material 204, and a metal material. 205.

The metal material 201 constitutes the top surface of the culture container housing portion 21 , and the metal material 203 constitutes the bottom surface of the culture container housing portion 21 . The bottom surface of the metal material 201 faces the top surface of the lid 62 . The heat insulating material 202 is arranged on the metal material 203 and supports the sample container 61 by coming into contact with the lower surface of the sample container 61 when the culture container 6 is housed. In other words, the culture vessel 6 is housed between the metal material 201 and the heat insulating material 202 . The metal members 204 and 205 respectively constitute the side surfaces of the culture vessel storage section 21 . In this manner, the culture vessel 6 is surrounded by the metal members 201 , 203 , 204 and 205 on the top, bottom, left, and right, and can be stored in and taken out from the front and rear sides of the culture vessel storage section 21 .

When the culture container storage part 21 has a plurality of stages, the metal material 203 of the culture vessel storage part 21 located in the upper stage and the metal material 201 of the culture vessel storage part 21 located in the lower stage may be in contact with each other. , and other members may be arranged between them. In addition, the metal material 201 of the culture container storage part 21 located in the lower stage may also serve as the metal material 203 . In the culture container housing portion 21 located at the bottom of the culture container rack 2, only the metal material 203 is arranged on the lower surface of the heat insulating material 202. As shown in FIG.

As materials for the metal materials 201, 203, 204, and 205, for example, aluminum, stainless steel, copper, iron, titanium, or the like can be used. As the heat insulating material 202, for example, glass wool, cellulose fiber, insulation board, wool heat insulating material, rock wool, hard urethane foam, bead method polystyrene foam, phenol foam, vacuum heat insulating material, resin material, or the like can be used. Examples of resin materials include polyamide, POM, PEEK, PPS, PTFE, PVC, PE, PP, PS, and ABS.

As described above, the culture container housing part 21 has a structure that surrounds the culture container 6 on the top, bottom, left, and right, so that heat convection is less likely to occur around the culture container 6 .

In general, the room temperature of the room in which the analyzer 1 is installed and the heat energy supplied from the temperature control unit 5 balance the temperature distribution of the culture container storage unit 21 at a certain level. Therefore, in order to prevent dew condensation, the amount of thermal energy supplied to the interface between the open end of the sample container 61 and the lid 62 in this equilibrium state is equal to the amount of thermal energy supplied to the sample 63 in the sample container 61. The thermal conductivity of the member (metal material 201) in contact with the upper surface of the lid 62 is made higher than the thermal conductivity of the member (insulating material 202) in contact with the lower surface of the sample container 61 so that the amount of heat is increased. Also, the thermal conductivity of the heat insulating material 202 is made lower than the thermal conductivity of the metal material 203 . In addition, the thermal conductivity of metal material 201 may be higher than that of metal material 203 .

By adopting the culture container housing part 21 having the above configuration, the thermal energy supplied to the interface between the open end of the specimen container 61 and the lid 62 is applied to the inner bottom of the specimen container 61 (well) and the specimen 63. The temperature of the upper surface of the lid 62 becomes higher than the temperature of the lower surface of the specimen container 61 , so that dew condensation is prevented from occurring at the boundary surface between the opening end of the specimen container 61 and the lid 62 . can be suppressed.

FIG. 2B is a schematic front view showing another configuration example of the culture vessel storage section 21. FIG. 2B is different from FIG. 2A in that an air layer 206 (first air layer) is provided between the upper surface of the lid 62 and the lower surface of the metal member 201. The culture container housing portion 21 of FIG. Since other configurations are the same as those in FIG. 2A, description thereof is omitted.

The thickness a of the air layer 206 (the distance between the first member and the culture container) is defined as the distance from the lower surface of the metal member 201 to the interface between the open end of the specimen container 61 and the lid 62 . The thickness a of the air layer 206 is the thermal energy (heat conduction + heat transfer + radiation) supplied to the interface between the inner bottom of the sample container 61 and the sample 63 < the boundary between the open end of the sample container 61 and the lid 62 It is appropriately set according to the material of the metal material 201 and the heat insulating material 202 within the range where the relational expression of the thermal energy (heat conduction + heat transfer + radiation) supplied to the surface holds.

Let t be the distance from the upper surface of the heat insulating material 202 to the interface between the inner bottom of the sample container 61 and the sample 63 . Also, let W be the thickness of the heat insulating material 202 . As shown in FIG. 2B, W+t is equal to the distance from the upper surface of the metal member 203 to the interface between the inner bottom of the specimen container 61 and the specimen 63 (the distance between the second member and the culture container). Here, when the thermal conductivity of the heat insulating material 202 is equal to or lower than the thermal conductivity of air, a<W+t is satisfied. As a result, the thermal energy applied to the interface between the open end of the sample container 61 and the lid 62 by the metal material 201 can be made higher than the thermal energy applied to the interface between the inner bottom of the sample container 61 and the sample 63. Condensation can be prevented.

Furthermore, in the configuration of FIG. 2B, the surface shape of the lower surface of the metal material 201 facing the lid 62 is uneven, or the lower surface of the metal material 201 is surface-treated (for example, alumite treatment) to increase the emissivity. Alternatively, the lower surface of the metal material 201 may be colored with a high emissivity. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to further increase the thermal energy of the radiation given to the interface between the open end of the specimen container 61 and the lid 62 by the metal material 201, thereby preventing dew condensation.

FIG. 2C is a schematic front view showing another configuration example of the culture vessel storage section 21. FIG. 2C, the heat insulating material 202 is formed in a substantially U shape, and an air layer 207 (second air layer) is formed below the part of the sample container 61 where the sample 63 is stored. 2B in that it differs from FIG. As shown in FIG. 2C, the heat insulating material 202 supports the left and right ends of the lower surface of the specimen container 61 . The thickness b of the air layer 207 is defined as the distance from the interface between the inner bottom of the sample container 61 and the sample 63 to the upper surface of the recess of the heat insulating material 202 .

For example, when a material having a higher thermal conductivity than air (for example, about 10 times) is used as the heat insulating material 202, by providing an air layer 207 in the heat insulating material 202 as shown in FIG. 2C, compared with FIG. Thermal energy supplied to the interface between the inner bottom of the sample container 61 and the sample 63 can be reduced.

As described above, by adopting the structure shown in FIG. 2C, the boundary between the inner bottom of the sample container 61 and the sample 63 is more likely than the thermal energy supplied to the interface between the open end of the sample container 61 and the lid 62 . The heat energy supplied to the surface can be reduced, thereby preventing condensation.

FIG. 2D is a schematic front view showing another configuration example of the culture vessel storage section 21. FIG. In the culture container storage part 21 of FIG. 2D, the heat insulating material 202 does not exist (is not filled) below the portion of the sample container 61 where the sample 63 is stored. 2C in that an air layer 208 (second air layer) is provided between the upper surface of the .

As shown in FIG. 2D, the heat insulating material 202 is used as a scaffold supporting the left and right ends of the lower surface of the sample container 61, and can positively supply thermal energy to the metal members 201 and 203. As shown in FIG. In the configuration of FIG. 2D, by making the thermal conductivity of the metal material 201 higher than the thermal conductivity of the metal material 203, the thermal energy supplied to the interface between the opening end of the sample container 61 and the lid 62 can be reduced. It can be larger than the thermal energy supplied to the interface between the inner bottom of the sample container 61 and the sample 63 .

The thickness c of the air layer 208 is defined as the distance from the interface between the inner bottom of the sample container 61 and the sample 63 to the upper surface of the metal material 203 . When the lower surface of the metal material 201 and the upper surface of the metal material 203 have the same material and surface condition, the thickness of the air layer 206 a< The thickness W of the heat insulating material 202 is set so that the air layer 208 has the thickness c.

The thickness a of the air layer 206 and the thickness c of the air layer 208 may be the same. It should be rougher than the upper surface of the metal material 203 facing it. Alternatively, the surface treatment of the lower surface of the metal material 201 and the surface treatment of the upper surface of the metal material 203 are made different. For example, when aluminum is used as the metal materials 201 and 203, the lower surface of the metal material 201 is anodized, and the upper surface of the metal material 203 is only degreased. As a result, the radiant energy to the interface between the lid 62 and the specimen container 61 can be made higher than the radiant energy to the interface between the inner bottom of the specimen container 61 and the specimen 63, thereby preventing dew condensation. can.

In addition, by making the color of the lower surface of the metal material 201 and the color of the upper surface of the metal material 203 different, the color of the lid 62 and the sample can be reduced rather than the radiant energy supplied to the interface between the inner bottom of the sample container 61 and the sample 63 . The radiant energy supplied to the interface with the container 61 may be increased.

Here, when the emissivity of the lower surface of the metal material 201 and the emissivity of the upper surface of the metal material 203 are different, the thickness a of the air layer 206<the thickness c of the air layer 208 c×√(the radiation rate of the lower surface of the metal material 201 The thickness W of the heat insulating material 202 is set so as to be the ratio/emissivity of the upper surface of the metal material 203). Thereby, the occurrence of dew condensation can be suppressed. Thermal energy supplied to the interface between the inner bottom of the sample container 61 and the sample 63 (heat conduction + heat transfer + radiation)<thermal energy supplied to the interface between the open end of the sample container 61 and the lid 62 If the relational expression (heat conduction + heat transfer + radiation) is satisfied, the emissivity of the metal material 201 is set higher than that of the metal material 203, and the heat conductivity of the metal material 201 is set to the heat conductivity of the metal material 203. It can also be lower than the rate.

As described above, even in the culture container storage section 21 shown in FIG. can be made larger than the heat energy supplied to the dew condensation generating portion, and the occurrence of dew condensation in the dew condensation generating portion can be suppressed.

FIG. 2E is a schematic front view showing another configuration example of the culture vessel storage section 21. FIG. The culture container storage part 21 in FIG. 2E is different from that in FIG. The thickness of the heat insulating material 209 can be such that an air layer 210 (second air layer) is formed between the bottom surface of the specimen container 61 and the top surface of the heat insulating material 209 .

The thickness d of the air layer 210 is defined as the distance from the interface between the inner bottom of the sample container 61 and the sample 63 to the upper surface of the heat insulating material 209 . In the culture container housing portion 21 of FIG. 2E, the relationship of thickness a of the air layer 206<thickness d of the air layer 210 may be established. As a result, the amount of thermal energy supplied to the lower surface of the specimen container 61 can be reduced, and the occurrence of dew condensation can be suppressed.

Note that the heat insulating material 209 does not necessarily have to be in contact with the upper surface of the metal material 203 , and can be placed at any position between the lower surface of the specimen container 61 and the upper surface of the metal material 203 . For example, in addition to the air layer 210 on the heat insulating material 209 , an air layer may also be formed between the lower surface of the heat insulating material 209 and the upper surface of the metal material 203 . Moreover, when the thermal conductivity of the heat insulating material 209 is equal to or lower than that of air, the heat insulating material 209 may be arranged so that the top surface of the heat insulating material 209 and the bottom surface of the sample container 61 are in contact with each other.

FIG. 2F is a schematic front view showing another configuration example of the culture vessel storage section 21. FIG. The culture container storage part 21 of FIG. 2F is different from that of FIG. The thickness of the heat insulating material 211 can be such that an air layer 212 (second air layer) is formed between the lower surface of the specimen container 61 and the upper surface of the heat insulating material 211 . The thickness e of the air layer 212 is defined as the distance from the interface between the inner bottom of the sample container 61 and the sample 63 to the upper surface of the heat insulating material 211 . In the culture vessel housing portion 21 of FIG. 2F, the relationship of thickness a of the air layer 206<thickness e of the air layer 212 may be established.

The structure of FIG. 2F can also reduce the amount of thermal energy supplied to the lower surface of the specimen container 61, and can suppress the occurrence of dew condensation.

As described above, in FIGS. 2A to 2E, the heat insulating material 202 is installed on the metal material 203, but a support member for suspending the heat insulating material 202 is further provided on the lower surface of the metal material 201, and the suspended heat insulating material A configuration in which the culture vessel 6 is placed on the material 202 may be employed. Also, the heat insulating material 202 may be fixed to the metal material 204 and the metal material 205 .

In the culture container storage unit 21 of the present embodiment, the thermal energy supplied to the interface between the open end of the sample container 61 and the lid 62 is supplied to the interface between the inner bottom of the sample container 61 and the sample 63. The configurations of FIGS. 2A-2F may be combined to provide greater than thermal energy applied. For example, by combining FIG. 2A and FIG. 2D, it is possible to have a configuration in which the air layer 208 is provided only below the specimen container 61 .

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1A, the temperature control unit 5 is arranged in the upper part of the analyzer 1 to form a temperature gradient in which the temperature decreases from the upper stage to the lower stage of the culture container rack 2. You may do so. Alternatively, the temperature control unit 5 may be arranged directly above the culture container rack 2 so that the temperature gradient from the upper stage to the lower stage of the culture vessel rack 2 can be formed more efficiently. Generally, the temperature inside the incubator is controlled so that no temperature gradient occurs. The thermal energy supplied to the interface between the inner bottom of the specimen container 61 and the specimen 63 can be smaller than the thermal energy supplied to the interface between the open end of the specimen container 61 and the lid 62, thereby preventing dew condensation. can do.

As described above, the culture container storage unit 21 of the present embodiment is designed to reduce the thermal energy supplied to the interface between the open end of the sample container 61 and the lid 62 to the boundary between the inner bottom of the sample container 61 and the sample 63 . It is configured such that less thermal energy is supplied to the surface. This eliminates the need for time to remove or suppress dew condensation on the culture vessel 6 that occurs during the incubation period, so the culture vessel 6 can be immediately supplied to the sample measuring unit 42, and measurement can be performed efficiently. be able to. Moreover, with the above configuration, there is no need to provide a mechanism for removing dew condensation, and the size and cost of the analyzer 1 do not increase. Furthermore, by suppressing dew condensation, the accuracy of measurement results is improved, and since it is not necessary to open the lid 62 to remove dew condensation, contamination can also be prevented.

[Second embodiment]
Next, an analyzer according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3A to 3H. The analyzer according to the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the culture container rack 2 further includes a heat source 213 and a temperature sensor 214 . 3A to 3H show an example using the culture vessel storage section 21 shown in FIG. 2D, but other configuration examples of the culture vessel storage section 21 (FIGS. 2A to 2C, 2E or 2F) may be used. .

FIG. 3A is a schematic front view showing an arrangement example of the heat source 213 and the temperature sensor 214 according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3A, the culture vessel rack 2 further comprises heat sources 213a-213d and temperature sensors 214a-214d.

The heat sources 213 a and 213 c are provided to cover the entire left side surface of the culture container rack 2 , and the heat sources 213 b and 213 d are provided to cover the entire right side surface of the culture container rack 2 . In other words, the heat sources 213 a and 213 c are provided on the outer wall surface of the metal material 204 , and the heat sources 213 b and 213 d are provided on the outer wall surface of the metal material 205 .

As the heat sources 213a to 213d, heaters such as electric heaters, ceramic heaters, silicon rubber heaters, sheathed heaters, band heaters, polyimide heaters, space heaters, cord heaters, cartridge heaters, metal-embedded heaters, and Peltiers are used. . The heat sources 213a to 213d are attached to the side surfaces of the culture vessel rack 2 by double-sided tape, heat conductive sheets, bonds, etc. (not shown), and come into contact with the metal members 201, 204 and 205. FIG. Although not shown, a metal layer or a resin layer is arranged on the surfaces of the heat sources 213a to 213d.

The temperature sensors 214a to 214d measure the temperature inside the culture vessel storage section 21. FIG. The diagram on the right side of FIG. 3A is an enlarged view of the culture vessel storage section 21 provided with temperature sensors 214a and 214b. As shown in FIG. 3A, a temperature sensor 214a is arranged on the inner wall surface of the metal member 204, and a temperature sensor 214b is arranged on the inner wall surface of the metal member 205, in the culture container storage section 21 on the second stage from the top of the culture container rack 2. are placed. In addition, in the culture vessel storage section 21 on the sixth stage from the top, a temperature sensor 214c is arranged on the inner wall surface of the metal member 204, and a temperature sensor 214d is arranged on the inner wall surface of the metal member 205. FIG. Note that the positions of the heat sources 213a-213d and the temperature sensors 214a-214d are not limited to the positions shown in FIG. 3A.

FIG. 3B is a block diagram illustrating the control mechanism for heat sources 213a-213d and temperature sensors 214a-214d of FIG. 3A. As shown in FIG. 3B, the heat sources 213a-213d and the temperature sensors 214a-214d are connected to the controller 7, respectively. The temperature sensors 214a to 214d output temperature measurements to the controller . The control unit 7 receives temperature measurements from the temperature sensors 214a to 214d, and controls the amount of current, voltage, etc. corresponding to the amount of heat to be supplied to the heat sources 213a to 213d based on the measurements.

The controller 7 may control the amount of heat supplied to the heat sources 213a to 213d so as to form a temperature gradient in which the temperature decreases from the top to the bottom of the culture container rack 2. FIG. As a result, in the culture container housing section 21 of each stage, the heat energy supplied to the interface between the open end of the sample container 61 and the lid 62 is more efficiently applied to the inner bottom portion of the sample container 61 and the sample 63 . The thermal energy supplied to the interface of the can be reduced. Also, the heat sources 213a to 213d may be configured such that the amount of heat supplied decreases from the top to the bottom. In this case, as the heat sources 213a to 213d, for example, electric heaters configured such that the number of turns decreases from the top to the bottom can be used.

In FIG. 3A, four heat sources 213a to 213d and four temperature sensors 214a to 214d are arranged. good. Also, the number of heat sources 213 may be less than the number of temperature sensors 214 .

When the number of temperature sensors 214 is greater than the number of heat sources 213, the control unit 7 determines the lowest output value, the highest output value, the average value of the output values of the plurality of temperature sensors 214 among the plurality of temperature sensors 214, or Based on the output value such as the sum, the amount of current, the amount of voltage, etc. corresponding to the amount of heat supplied to the heat source 213 are controlled.

As described above, the culture container storage unit 21 shown in FIG. 3A can increase the amount of thermal energy supplied compared to the first embodiment, and can accelerate the temperature rise of the metal material 201. . Thereby, the occurrence of dew condensation can be suppressed more efficiently.

FIG. 3C is a schematic front view showing another arrangement example of the heat source 213 and the temperature sensor 214 according to the second embodiment. The example shown in FIG. 3C is different from FIG. 3A in that one temperature sensor 214 is arranged only in the central portion of the culture container rack 2 (the culture container storage section 21 on the fifth stage).

The diagram on the right side of FIG. 3C is an enlarged diagram of the culture container storage section 21 provided with the temperature sensor 214 . As shown in the diagram on the right side of FIG. 3C, the temperature sensor 214 is installed on the lower surface of the metal material 201, for example.

FIG. 3D is a block diagram illustrating the control mechanism for heat sources 213a-213d and temperature sensor 214 of FIG. 3C. Similar to the above, based on the output of the temperature sensor 214, the amount of current and the amount of voltage supplied to the heat sources 213a to 213d are controlled. Other points are the same as above, so the description is omitted.

FIG. 3E is a schematic front view showing still another arrangement example of the heat source 213 and the temperature sensor 214 according to the second embodiment. The culture vessel rack 2 described above has one row of eight stages of culture vessel storage sections 21 arranged in the height direction, but the culture vessel rack 2 of FIG. It has rows, and the culture container storage units 21 are also arranged in the horizontal direction. As shown in FIG. 3E, the metal members 205 of the left row of culture container housings 21 and the metal members 204 of the right row of culture container housings 21 are arranged to come into contact with each other. Note that the number of rows of the culture vessel storage section 21 is not limited to two, and may be any number.

The heat sources 213a and 213c are attached to the metal members 204 of the left row of culture container housings 21, and the heat sources 213b and 213d are attached to the metal members 205 of the right row of culture container housings 21. FIG. In addition, a heat source 213e is arranged on the top surface of the culture container storage section 21 on the topmost stage, and a heat source 213f is arranged on the bottom surface of the culture vessel storage section 21 on the bottom stage.

The temperature sensors 214a to 214f are arranged in the vicinity of the heat sources 213a to 213f inside the culture vessel storage section 21, respectively.

When arranging the culture container storage units 21 in the height direction and the horizontal direction in this way, as shown in FIG. The amount of heat supplied to the central portion can be ensured.

FIG. 3F is a block diagram illustrating the control mechanism for heat sources 213a-213f and temperature sensors 214a-214f of FIG. 3E. As shown in FIG. 3F, the heat sources 213a-213f are controlled by the controller 7 of the analyzer 1 based on the outputs of the temperature sensors 214a-214f. Other points are the same as above, so the description is omitted.

FIG. 3G is a schematic front view showing another arrangement example of the heat source 213 and the temperature sensor 214 according to the second embodiment. The example shown in FIG. 3G differs from FIG. 3E in that one temperature sensor 214 is arranged in the center of the culture vessel rack 2 .

FIG. 3H is a block diagram illustrating the control mechanism for heat sources 213a-213f and temperature sensor 214 of FIG. 3G. As shown in FIG. 3H, the heat sources 213a to 213f are controlled by the controller 7 of the analyzer 1 based on the output of the temperature sensor 214. FIG. Other points are the same as above, so the description is omitted.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the heat source 213 is directly attached to the culture container storage part 21. The heat energy of the heat source 213 may be supplied to the culture container storage section 21 via the .

As described above, in this embodiment, since the culture container rack 2 has the heat source 213 and the temperature sensor 214, the amount of thermal energy supplied can be increased compared to the first embodiment, and the temperature of the metal material 201 can be It is possible to accelerate the rise. Thereby, it is possible to efficiently suppress the occurrence of dew condensation in the dew condensation generating portion. In addition, by controlling the amount of heat supplied by the heat source 213 so as to form a temperature gradient in which the temperature decreases from the upper stage to the lower stage of the culture container rack 2, the occurrence of dew condensation can be suppressed more efficiently. .

[Modification]
The present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and includes various modifications. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail in order to explain the present disclosure in an easy-to-understand manner, and do not necessarily include all the configurations described. Also, part of an embodiment can be replaced with the configuration of another embodiment. Moreover, the configuration of another embodiment can be added to the configuration of one embodiment. Moreover, a part of the configuration of each embodiment can be added, deleted or replaced with a part of the configuration of another embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Analyzer 2... Culture container rack 3... Transfer part 4... Measurement part 5... Temperature control part 6... Culture container 7... Control part 21... Culture container storage part 22... Leg parts 31, 32... Actuator 33... Holding part 41 Measurement unit 42 Specimen measurement part 51 Heater 52 Heat sink 53 Fan 54 Wind 61 Specimen container 62 Lid 63 Specimen 201, 203, 204, 205 Metal material 202, 209, 211 Heat insulating material 206 ~ 208, 210, 212 air layer 213 heat source 214 temperature sensor

Claims (8)

Equipped with a culture vessel storage unit for storing the culture vessel,
The culture container storage part is
a first member that constitutes the top surface of the culture container housing;
a second member that forms the bottom surface of the culture container housing;
a third member disposed on the second member and supporting the culture vessel;
a heat source installed in the culture container housing;
a temperature sensor that measures the internal temperature of the culture container housing;
with
The third member supports the culture vessel such that the distance between the first member and the culture vessel is equal to or less than the distance between the second member and the culture vessel,
The culture vessel rack, wherein the heat source supplies heat based on the output of the temperature sensor. 2. The culture vessel rack according to claim 1, wherein the thermal conductivity of said third member is lower than the thermal conductivity of said first member and the thermal conductivity of said second member. 2. The culture vessel rack according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of said culture vessel storage sections stacked in the height direction. 2. The culture vessel rack according to claim 1, wherein the third member is configured to form a second air layer under the culture vessel. The material of the first member and the material of the second member are the same,
2. The culture vessel rack according to claim 1, wherein the distance between said first member and said culture vessel is smaller than the distance between said second member and said culture vessel. Having a plurality of the culture vessel storage units stacked in the height direction,
2. The culture vessel rack according to claim 1, wherein said heat source supplies heat so as to generate a temperature gradient from the upper stage to the lower stage of said plurality of said culture vessel storage sections. A culture vessel rack according to claim 1;
a transport unit that transports the culture vessel;
a measuring unit for measuring the culture state of the specimen in the culture vessel, the culture vessel being transported from the culture vessel rack;
and a temperature controller that adjusts the internal temperature. The culture vessel rack has a plurality of the culture vessel storage units stacked in the height direction,
8. The analysis apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the temperature control unit supplies heat so that a temperature gradient is generated from the upper stage to the lower stage of the plurality of culture container storage units.

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